The Heart of the Koharace Castle
by Lord Zidane
Summary: Cyan Heart's adventure across Equestria, to save the castle that's near it's ruins... She'll have to meet other ponies and discover her true self to save it. How far will she go just to keep her friends? Will she go too far, and ruin her chances? (Most characters are OCs, and most amazing OCs are by friends from PonyPlace. Lastly, most OCs are in PonyPlace, too.)
1. The Train to Canterlot

Canterlot, the beautiful scenery of white and classic gold. The home of royalty and the upperclass ponies. But, things in Canterlot aren't always so… peaceful. No, this wasn't the time to be sitting around, pondering on every breath taking location. This was around when trouble was starting to brew. The mysterious could fill up like a bog when a fire went off. But, since the mystery wasn't a fog, it wasn't noticed, just seemed like a spec of… something. This 'something' left a gap in the timeline, like it never happened.

Well, this 'something' was actually being discovered by the Royal Guards. This mystery wasn't going to be let off the hook, not within such a peaceful kingdom, anyways. Lezley, a pegasus royal guard, with purple eyes of determination. At the age of 25, He has sleek white fur, and a golden, light mane and tail. He was rather kind in heart. This kindness wasn't shown in his duty to work, though. He let his wings out as he took flight to the crime scene, a rather dense, cold mansion. The group consisted of five royal guards: Lezley, Fretzle, and three others that Lezley had never seen.

They entered the mansion, which seemed rather clean. It was expected though, since most mansions are just that: Clean and giant, enough to fill about ten ponies with little issue. Lezley looked to their captain, whom he had never seen until this day. He was covered in the royal captain suit and shouted an order to spread out. Lezley flew up to the second story of the mansion and started searching. The room he found himself in was the library portion of the place, who'd have expected such a small Library in a big mansion? Lezley didn't, that was for sure.

Lezley looked around and took a sniff of the air. "Where could this body be, anyhow? I heard there was a murder, yes. But, where? It's not everyday that a pony manages to enter a mansion, that's for sure." He whispered and turned his eye to a book that had been laying on the floor. "Hm?" He looked at the book. Upon picking it up, he read: 'Book of Spells, Volume 2.' Lezley didn't feel surprised by this fact at all. The owner that had mysteriously been murdered was indeed, a Unicorn. But, something else DID seem odd. This unicorn was known for his magic, why would he have this particular book out?

"What's going on in here?" A voice quickly announced with a hint of command and explanation.

Lezley knew that voice all to well. He quickly turned around and put his hoof up to his forehead, saluting his commander. "Well, it seems that a book of spells was laying on the floor. But, what's odd, is that the owner of this establishment seems to already know all these spells…," He started with his explanation. "What's odder, however, is that there seems to be a pony capable of breaking into a fully guarded mansion with no trouble, it seems."

The commander frowned. "Well, seems like we're not getting anywhere. Hmm… Fine. Let us search the rest of the house for more clues." He ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Lezley called back, and he started his search of the rest of the mansion. He flew down into a rather darker room, he ventured somewhat inside until he quickly knocked into a side table, which was for some reason in the middle of the room. Lezley looked around, startled. "Now who wo-" He started to ponder, before a shriek of pain was heard from across the mansion. Lezley gasped at the sound and started to fly to the location of the scream. Lezley landed in front of the door way and prepared himself for what was to come… He looked inside and his eyes widened. What he found wasn't very pleasing…

* * *

"And then! Whoosh! Just like that, the clouds were gone!" Cyan giggled. Khaz sighed as he struggled to remain hearing the story that he'd heard for the third time this month. Cyan Heart was a unicorn with a broken horn, she was a Normal heighten Mare, at the age of 22, but she had no cutie mark. She had a blue mane and tail that both had 2 red stripes through them. And obviously, cyan colored fur. She also had eight small slinky pieces around her legs, making wrattles of noise every time they were moved. Khaz was an Earth pony who had only one slinky piece, which was around his front left hoof, while two foam circles were around his back hooves. He was a giant of a stallion, at the age of 23. His red fur and green, messy mane was enough to watch. But, his blunt attitude was more agitating to deal with than his looks. He had a tool box for a cutie mark, which represented his dedication and talent for working hard and effectively.

Khaz sheepishly looked Cyan in the eye. "You've told me all this, already. We should stop."

Cyan sighed at his uncaring statement, even if she should be used to it, by now. "Khaz…" She sighed. "What do you plan on doing, anyways? You've been awkward lately." She commented. It was true, too. Khaz had been getting less meals and seemed to have been saving up for something. Maybe he was planning to get a gift for somepony? Or was it that he was starting to get greedy?

Khaz looked Cyan in the eye. He hadn't tried lying before, but now he was going to have to make an attempt to. "Cyan, I'm just trying to settle in with this town. I'm not used to ponies trying to be my friend all the time, is all, I promise."

Cyan smiled. "Oh, it was hard for me to, you know. I've been here a lot longer, right? I know what'd make you feel more at home! How about a relaxing trip to the spa?" She suggested.

"No." Khaz refused on the spot, with little hesitation. "I'd… just like more alone time, is all." He tried to lie, again.

Cyan frowned in disbelief. "Uh… I'm the only pony you've really have gotten to talk to yet. I've been trying to get you to talk to others, you know." Cyan commented. She sighed about the fact she started to get the hint. "Tell me the truth, Khaz." She demanded, suddenly.

A sigh escaped Khaz. "I've been planning a trip to Canterlot." He admitted in his same, boring tone that he had always done.

Cyan squealed in happiness as she jumped out of her seat. "That'd be-"

"For me, only." Khaz added on, looking away. He knew a swarm of guilt was about to hit him. He could feel it already…

And so it did. Cyan sat back down with a frown. She suddenly stopped talking after these words. She had been feeling left out recently, and this sort of behavior started to get on her last nerves. She slammed her hoof onto the table and knocked her own meal off the table and stormed off in frustration. Khaz felt miserable now. He knew where that frustration had been coming from: Him. He hadn't been so nice to her lately. With all the activates he had been doing, he never really invited her. She had been his friend since he was a colt, back in their old school. They were the best of friends, after all…

…Or so he thought. She had finally lost her anger and exploded on him. He always figured that she was okay with him being out and about. But, until now, he never really considered the fact of the stress build up from his little friend…

Khaz looked down at the food in disappointment, he quickly realized that Cyan had spent a lot of bits for this meal, and here he was… by himself, wishing the little mare would return. "Dang it, Khaz…" He bickered at himself. "Look what you've done." He sighed and looked at the tickets that were in his bag. He remembered that he needed to pack… Tonight. "Tonight, and here I am, hurting my friend's feelings. Ugh, what a great time to be sulking." He commented and got up. He headed for his orange field, out of the way from town. He passed several ponies and watched as some put up signs, were sweeping, and others washing windows. He was going to miss the quiet atmosphere, aroma of the sidewalks, and most importantly, Cyan.

He reached the orange tree field and looked around, his small house was rather silent most of the time, the only visitors he really got were the different mail ponies and, you bet it, Cyan. It was a very small farm, definitely compared to the Apple family's. But, this wasn't what was on his mind, anyways. He wanted to make sure he had time to pack everything for his trip, and have time to go apologize. How was he supposed to explain such a mess to the little mare, though? Had she finally lost it? Perhaps… he pondered. Perhaps…

He put an umbrella, one suit, and other necessities into his large luggage. He looked around his room and went into the bathroom. Ofcourse, he thought. "I need to bring this…" He admitted to the air and picked up a bottle. This bottle seemed to be just a normal pill bottle, but, it wasn't. He had a little stone inside, which he knew did something special… But, what? He had pondered on this many nights, all of which lead to the same answer: No clue. He had a feeling, though, so he picked it up and put the bottle into his bag. He continued to go back to his room and collected the luggage that he had packed up for his trip. He looked outside at the sunset. Well, it was now or never…

* * *

Cyan entered her house and slammed the door shut. Her house was already a disaster, so what would a broken door really do to bother her? She looked to the fridge, which had messy and looped-sided door. She opened the door up and snatched her famous Pie, which she sold on the street market area. It had several ingredients like cherry, blueberry, and sometimes even mixed with other foods. She put it into the oven, which was rusty and missing part of it's door, too. She sighed and she looked around the dump of a house that she had, the only things that were really clean were the floor and her special Adamant Box.

Cyan had really like sharing, It was possibly one of her most favorable traits. She had always shared almost everything that she owned, even the famous blue pillow of hers! But, that Adamant box was one of the things that she never allowed anypony to touch. She went over to the box and decided to open it, to make sure everything was okay in it. As always, the other piece of her horn was still their, waiting to be connected back to Cyan. She smiled and closed the box back up.

After putting the box away, she sat down on the living room floor and decided to start planning what she'd do. Cyan glared out the window as the Pegasi started to set rain clouds up and make the rain fall, right on schedule, of course. Cyan wished that the clouds would just shock them away. She wanted a nice relaxing beautiful day, after all. Instead of being grumpy, though. She watched the pegasi and started to look for Gemini, one of her closer friends who was rather dark, almost black Pegasus. She had known him for awhile, too. She never saw him, not much to her surprise.

Knock knock said the door, who had a pony knocking on the other side of the door, wanting to see Cyan. She sighed, now her imagination was getting the better of her. The door talking? Yeah, she was going cookoo. The door actually did have a knocking behind it, Cyan finally noticed. She got up and ran to the door, hoping the pony wouldn't leave too fast for her to answer it. She opened the door with a large smile across her face. The smile didn't last long as she frowned at who the pony was… her giant, supposedly, BFF Khaz.

Khaz looked nervous, for once. He was caught off guard about seeing her unhappy with him for the first time in his life. He knew it was especially bad, seeing how she even frowned for just seeing him. He looked inside real quick, hoping to get out of the rain, atleast. "Cyan, may I come in?" He asked bluntly, trying to sound calmer than he actually was.

Cyan glared for a second and moved aside, letting him in for a while. "Yes? May I help you?" She stated with a rather bland, uncaring, stern look.

Khaz knew she was using his style of glaring, which he almost always used. "I just wanted to apologize to you before I get on the train." He stated and lied the luggage onto the floor. "So, I'm sorry for all the stress I put onto you."

Cyan sighed in disbelief. He was still going!? Did he really not care for her feelings? Was he just trying to convince himself that he was a polite stallion? "Okay. Thanks." She bluntly put down the words and started to go check up on her pie.

Khaz felt disbelief, too. He could tell. Well, actually, she wasn't trying to hide it… But, he could tell that she didn't truly accept it. "Bye…" He silently mouthed, without actually stating the words. He lifted up the luggage and started to walk outside. "Cyan…" He sadly mouthed again. He walked off and headed to the train station.

Cyan, though, was looking through her stuff. She had gotten an idea to try and make new things out of the stuff she had. She had a plan to use this stuff for a devious idea she had thought up. She was going to follow Khaz… even if it meant illegally following him. She got out some of her rags and started to stitch them together, then she got out her grey spray paint, which she used to paint the rags, trying to find a good color to hide in. She smiled as she tossed the rags onto her body and put on a hat, to hide the horn. She slowly sprayed the rags down and started using magic to make the rags have a fur effect. She looked like a completely different mare now, except one thing… her tail and mane. She walked back to her room and started to make a cover for her tail and the rest of her mane. There was one problem she still had, though. How was she supposed to get on the train without a ticket?

* * *

Khaz arrived at the train station, wishing he had brought an umbrella with him. He went ahead inside and sat down at on one of the waiting benches. He sighed as he realized how early he arrived, so he started to think on what to do for the next 30 minutes. He didn't think Cyan would stop talking to him so quickly, after all. The Train station was rather quiet and had a bland smell and had little fun. He looked around at the other ponies, hoping to find somepony who'd be interested in talking or atleast something to pass the time. Some of the other ponies had odd color schemes, others were seemingly short as fillies, or were they just normal fillies? Khaz watched as a family of ponies came into the station.

"Hello, Sir." A pony suddenly said, Khaz quickly turned his attention to the Pony addressing him.

Khaz was surprised by the Pony that was addressing him. It was a Unicorn Royal Guard, which he figured wouldn't ever talk to him. Had he done something wrong? "Hi." He responded.

The Unicorn had dark brown fur. His mane and tail couldn't be see due to the helmet and armor they always wore. "We're you headed off to, Sir? You packed quite a lot of stuff." He questioned.

Khaz could feel that the guard was suspicious of him, had he been watching him ever since he entered the station? "It's just my stuff." He answered with a stern look.

"Hmm… I see." The guard nodded. "My name's Hallow." He greeted and held a hoof out for a shake.

Khaz decided to play along and shook the hoof of the Royal Guard. "I'm Khaz Steel. Call me Khaz, though." He greeted. Was this royal guard trying to make him happy? If not, was he suspicious of him? The clock took it's time, making sure that what was only 30 minutes was to take an hour.

Hallow sat down on the bench next to Khaz, making it seem like they were already friends. "So? What do you like to do? It seems that you don't have much social skills." He commented, not even bothering to peek around the bush or be quiet about it.

Khaz felt an angry surge through his body. Did the guard really just say that without hesitation? Was he hiding behind his little title of: Royal Guard? "I run an orange farm and I don't talk much." He answered both questions as quickly as possible.

Hallow smiled, he couldn't get this stallion to open up, could he? "I noticed. Could you atleast tell me where you're going to, Khaz?" He asked curiously. "I don't mean to bother you, but you seemed so unhappy, so I'm trying o help."

Khaz rolled his eyes at the comment. So this was what it's about, is it? "I always look like this." He commented. "I don't need to seem happy."

Hallow nodded and took off his Helmet, letting his long black mane loose. He started to relax, being on duty all the time was frustrating, definitely with all the standing around and looking mad all the time. "Well, seeming happy would make other ponies happy, you know." He stated and smiled. "See? When the ponies see me happy, they get a sense of security and warmth."

What was with this stallion? Khaz thought in frustration. Security and warmth? Then why am I feeling so bothered and cold? "I'm not a royal guard. I don't need to smile." He told the guard, who he knew would have a comeback for this statement…

"Well, before I was a royal guard, smiling always made my friends happier. Seeing me frown would always hurt them…" Hallow informed. "Maybe you could just force a smile? That'd make other ponies be happier to be around you." And with that, the Royal guard looked to the clock, as well. "Plus, the train isn't moving for another 20 minutes or so."

20 minutes too long. Khaz thought. He was getting rather frustrated with this 'guard of happiness'. "I don't need to look happy." He bluntly stated, trying to find a way to get the guard out of his mane.

The guard smiled as he took off his armor, too. He placed it onto the floor, next to his helmet. His tail was also black and long. "This isn't about be being a guard, you know. I was just trying to make you happier…" Hallow stated. "It's that attitude of yours that makes me worry so much for you." Hallow lied down on the bench and got comfortable.

"You don't need to talk to me, Hallow. I'm just fine the way I am." Khaz stated.

Hallow looked unhappy with that answer. "Alright… I was just trying to help you before it was too late…" He sighed and stayed put. "Mind if I atleast sit here for a while?" He asked.

With a quick nod, Khaz agreed. "Fine."

"Thanks." Hallow smiled again, knowing that he was welcomed to atleast sit next to him.

And the awkward silence began to kick in. Khaz watched the clock, hoping he could just speed stuff up, but to no avail… the clock started to seem slower than normal. Trying to keep his attention off Hallow was proving to be difficult, however. Hallow had started to shine his armor up even more, getting the rain and dirt off of it. With little to nothing to do, Khaz turned his attention to the fellow stallion. "Do you know Lezley?" He asked out of seemingly nowhere. But, really he had heard stories of Lezley from Cyan Heart. She had loved to talk to Lezley back in Canterlot and they had became good friends. Khaz himself had barely talked to this royal guard named Lezley. He was starting to wonder if he would see him in Canterlot, perhaps?

Hallow seemed rather shocked for two reasons. One, Khaz was actually talking to him, and that he knew Lezley? _How!? _He decided to act as if he wasn't surprised. "Yes, I've met Lezley. He's a really great guard and his heart is in the right spot. How did you know him, anyways?" Hallow asked, trying his best to keep the conversation going.

Khaz just shrugged.

The guard frowned again. "So, just a lucky guess?" He asked, highly doubting such a random question would fit so well. "I find that hard to believe."

"Cyan." Khaz explained.

"Hm?" The guard looked up at him, confused.

"Cyan Heart, the Mare? Clumsy, little mare." Khaz finished. "She told me about him."

Hallow nodded. "Okay, I was just wondering. I was sort of worried that you're the criminal type. You defiantly seem like the type. Big, serious, unfriendly. But, I doubt you are."

Khaz felt a little stream of anger pulse through him. _Why did this annoyance have to be right?_ "I'm not a criminal." He quickly replied, getting agitated. "Don't you have work to get back to?"

Hallow smiled politely. "No, I just got on break, so I decided to come talk to you. I'll be boarding the next train that comes here, actually. Why are you here?"

Khaz felt angrier at this statement. "The next train…?" He questioned again as he made sure to listen to every word.

The stallion nodded. "I'm to help guard on the next train. Is there a problem with that?" He asked coolly.

_Ofcourse there is. _Khaz responded in his head. _That's the train I'm getting on. _"No… No problem's here." He answered, lying to the guard was harder than lying to Cyan.

Hallow chuckled silently, getting the hint. "Well, I'll be patrolling the carts… I hope that doesn't bother you." He informed Khaz. "… Too much." He added on.

Khaz sighed. _What's with this stallion? Was he set out on the goal to agitate ponies before their trips? _"Too much? So, you knew you were going to annoy me… Thanks a lot." He commented.

Hallow smiled and started to put his armor on. "Heads up, Khaz… The train is arriving. I wouldn't want you to be late." He smiled and headed to get on the train.

Khaz sighed and picked up his luggage. "Finally… Hopefully I'll be away from him in Canterlot." He prayed silently. He got onto the train and headed through the compartments… He looked through each, trying to recognize any of the ponies. He recognized Berry Punch, but that was about it. With little to no choice he walked into the emptiest compartment he could. He wasn't alone in the compartment. He looked over to a pony who seemed like she was busy investigating her luggage. She was a rather unique pony, Khaz thought. She had a full white body, with dark blue, puffy, mane and tail. She had cyan colored stripes through her mane and tail. He couldn't see her cutie mark, since it was covered by a small dress that seemed only for her back. On the back of her head was a dark pink bow. The mare closed the luggage and turned around, revealing some neat black sunglasses.

The mare carried the luggage with her magic and placed it onto the dark pink blanket, claiming the bed for herself. Khaz knew from this moment that she was an Unicorn. The mare looked to him for a split second and sat down on her blanket. "What's up?" She casually asked.

Khaz looked around the room quickly. "Not much. Just going to Canterlot." He calmly answered.

The mare shrugged. "Sounds about right." She picked. "It's not like this is the train to Canterlot…" She remarked sarcastically.

Khaz rolled his eyes. _Great… another rude pony to deal with. _"If you're going to talk to me like that, I'm leaving." He grumpily remarked back.

She frowned. "Sorry, I was just sorta in a bad mood." She apologized. "Hey, I've seen you around. You're that stallion that tends to the Orange farm." She pointed out.

Khaz nodded. "Yes, I do…" He answered. "My name is Khaz. You are?" He asked politely. _Maybe it's time to try this 'friend making'._ he thought.

The mare looked back at her luggage quickly, then back to Khaz, frowning. "Promise not to laugh?" She asked with a frankly unhappy frown.

Khaz nodded. "Why would I laugh at your name?" He asked and started to put his luggage onto the other side of the room. He opened it up and set his own blanket onto the bed.

She kept a serious frown on her face and kept her eye on Khaz. "Potato."

Khaz looked sort of confused. "Excuse me?"

"Potato." She responded again. "That's my name… Potato." To her surprise, Khaz didn't giggle or even smile.

Khaz nodded. "Nice to meet you, Potato. I don't see what's wrong with your name." He commented as he looked at his slinky piece, suddenly remembering his lesson on friendship.

Potato smiled as she looked out the window. "You know, Khaz…" She started.

Khaz looked to her and raised his eyebrow. "Yes, Potato?" He questioned.

"You're the second pony who hasn't even snickered about my name… That makes me happy, just so you know." She informed, and started to draw a smiley face onto the window.

Khaz had expected him to be the first to not laugh… But, even he could be wrong. "Second, huh? I wonder who the first one is."

Potato smiled at his interest. "Sickle is the first one, actually…" She commented. "Si-" She stopped when she heard a snicker… "Khaz, was that you?" She asked and looked to the giant stallion.

Khaz turned to reveal a snicker. "Sickle? I use one of those everyday… Well, almost. Her name is seriously: Sickle?" He asked and frowned again.

Potato couldn't help but find some humor in this. Usually they respected Sickle's name, and laughed at hers. But, this stallion was obviously different. "Well, yeah…?" She couldn't think of what to say…

Khaz shook his head. "Sorry, I shouldn't be laughing at your friend, now should I?" He apologized. "Anyways… you look rather young." He pointed out.

"Well, duh! I'm still in school. We're just on break." She smiled again. "By your size… I'm guessing there's NO way you're still in school." She guessed.

"Correct…" Khaz answered. He decided to try and ask another question, but what? He decided to try a casual question. "Why are you going to Canterlot?" He asked the mare.

Potato repositioned her sunglasses and grinned. "To see my BFF." She responded and turned slowly to look back out the window.

Khaz sighed. She was being difficult to talk to… Was that on purpose? "Which is…?" He asked in the form of a statement.

"Sickle." Potato responded quickly. "She had to go to Canterlot for a while, and I wanted to give her a surprise party to tell her: HELLO!" She cheered, suddenly.

Khaz nodded. He felt guilty now… Potato was going to Canterlot to see a friend… while he was subconsciously running away from his BFF… Why did everything suddenly go wrong? He looked out the window and started to watch the stars… How he wished he could spot one of the constellations… but, he couldn't… He tried to recall all the past mistakes he had made. He remembered the time where he was mean to two of Cyan's friends… who had come over for a slumber party JUST for him, truthfully. He winced about the memory of telling Cyan how silly she was always acting and of course, the time where he had called her 'as lazy as a mule' and claimed that was the reason she couldn't get her cutie mark. He finally snapped back into reality, where he was staring at a picture of space that had been taped on the wall in front of him. "Where did this come from?" He asked.

Potato giggled. "I put it there because you were 'staring' into space!" She snickered and retreated to the protection of her blanket.

Khaz felt a smile on his face. "Haha… good one." He commented and kept looking at the poster. "Huh… Here's Mars." He commented and continued searching. "Did… you draw this? It's beautiful…" He complimented.

Potato's voice was low under the blanket, but was still heard. "Yeah… I didn't think it was too special, though." She admitted. "You like it that much, huh?" She asked, curiously.

Khaz nodded. "Yes, I just complimented it for a reason." He chuckled. "But, seriously. This is an amazing piece of work."

Potato came out from under the blanket. "You really think so? Gosh… I didn't know I was that good at drawing, truthfully. It always looked normal to me, natural, even." She explained.

Khaz sighed. "It's natural to you because you're so good at it." He admitted. "I couldn't draw anything like this, that's for sure."

Potato shrugged. "You could say that. I truthfully don't see anything special with it." She told him.

Khaz sighed… _Everypony's special…_ He though.

* * *

The train was stopped and wasn't going to be moving for a small while. This was it… Cyan got into the station and quickly walked up to the guard at the train, who, like she expected, wanted a ticket. She started to follow through with her plan. She wasn't sure it would work and she didn't have much of a back up plan, either.

The Unicorn Royal Guard smiled at her. "Hello, Ma'am. Ticket, please." He asked and raised his hoof up. He looked at the sickly Mare and frowned. "Are you okay?"

Cyan started to play sick the best she could, now. Maybe this guard will fall for the act. "S-sir… I… need to get on the… train, please…" She faked some coughs into the act.

The guard looked hesitant. "T-ticket, Ma'am…" He ordered, trying to keep his cool.

Cyan faked another cough, making it drastic… She spit out a marble that she had colored greenish. "P-please…" She begged…

The guard looked over her suspiciously. "I'll take you to the Hospital, Ma'am…" He informed and tried to grab her shoulder.

Cyan through her should back and made a run for the train, trying to find another way on. She knew now… She was being chased. Cyan gasped at the thought, what would she do if they caught her? Was she ready for this? The guard had quickly caught up to her, now… She felt a sense of doom coming over her…

The guard caught onto her hoof. "STOP!" He ordered. Cyan felt her nerves react before she could talk some sense to herself. She jumped and twirled herself in the air, bending the stallions hoof and tossed him down. She was shocked by what she just did…

Hallow gasped as he hit the floor. Usually, he was ready for this… But, coming from a supposedly sick mare, he was caught off guard. Hallow leaped up again and turned to see the mare who had already jumped onto the train. He gasped as the train started to head into motion… "Stop the train!" He tried to yell, but it was too late… The train started heading off, with Cyan on top of it.

The mysterious mare waved to Hallow and giggled to herself… Now, all she needed to do was get into the train and pretend to be innocent. This couldn't be hard, right? She jumped down into the section where the train carts were connected. She opened the first cart and walked in. She now looked like a rather mysterious pony, with being gray and all… She walked into the next room, already feeling scared because of what she just had done. Hopefully, none of the ponies noticed. Then a thought struck her. Surely some royal guards were to be on the train, too. They had to, why wouldn't they? They do protect all of Equestria, right?

Cyan was relieved when she realized that all the ponies in the compartment were sleeping. She decided to try and find a hiding spot. She looked around the room, panicking. The royal guards to come in at any moment! She climbed under one of the beds and quickly hid herself. "Come on, I have to think of a better spot than this if I want to stay on this train." She mumbled to herself.

"Is somepony else here?" Came a voice, suddenly. Cyan's iris shrunk, the felt that doom was coming even closer now. Without an idea of what to do, she decided to try a different trick. "Hello?" The mare above the bed called again. But, still no response. "…" She started to suspect one of her bunkmates to be the one picking on her, so she lied her head back down and started to rest.

_Phew…_ Cyan sighed and started to look around. _What am I? A criminal now?_ She thought.

* * *

Potato watched in shock. She had seen the whole even that had gone on. Now there was some sort of robber on the train. "Khaz, I think it'd be best if we hide our stuff." She insisted.

Khaz looked over to the mare. "Why? You don't think either of us can be trusted, do you?" He asked, disappointed about how quickly this seemed to turn.

Potato shook her head. "No, it's not that. I just say a pony jump on top of the train. That means there's a thief somewhere around here… So, it's not you." She informed. "Now I'm not even sure about going to sleep, truthfully." She admitted and started keeping an eye on the door.

Khaz nodded and sighed. "I can never go anywhere without trouble." He commented. "Well, how about we make some sort of alarm device. That way the thief will be startled and we'll wake up when he or she tries." He suggested.

Potato's ears perked up. "Huh… Sounds good, but how are we going to do that?" She asked.

"Khaz walked over to his own suitcase. "Well, first we'll need a loud noise device to wake us up." He explained.

Potato reached into her luggage and got out a megahorn from it. She smiled innocently and smiled, letting off a squee. "How about this?" She asked as normal as possible.

Khaz raised an eyebrow in utter shock and confusion. "Uh… Why were you bringing that?" He asked her with high doubt that this 'Sickle' would like her ears blown off. "Please don't tell me…"

Potato snickered and laughed quietly. "Yup, it's for the party." She informed. "Well, what else am I going to do with it?" She asked as she waved her hoof into a shrugging motion.

Khaz's ears stooped down and hung there. "You tell me. You're the crazy one." He joked.

Potato shrugged again. She put the horn on the bed. "So, should we put our stuff together?" She suggested. "That'd help protect the briefcases."

Khaz agreed. "Sure." He simply said and lifted his luggage, then moved it over to the top bunk, with Potato's luggage. "We'll set up the alarm when it gets darker." He ordered and looked out the window at the rain, which had started to pour even harder. "Yeah… That pony has to be inside the train by now. He or she couldn't stand being out there that long with a slipper roof under them." He explained, observing the outside.

Potato put a hoof to her forehead. "I remember seeing the pony, actually… Hey! I have an idea! Le-"

Khaz finished it quickly. "Look for the pony, right?" He guessed and stared at the mare.

The Mare nodded in excitement. "Yes! Let's see where this pony is… then we might be heroes." She stated with enthusiasm and started digging into her luggage.

The giant of a stallion stopped and started to think this over. "Well, this would be helping all the ponies on the train… I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea." He agreed.

Potato got out a magnifying glass which she carried with her magic. "Then it's settled. We'll find this pony ourselves." She ordered. "Sickle's going to be proud of me." She exclaimed.

Khaz rolled his eyes. "This 'Sickle' can't be that important." He remarked and opened the door to the next room, which was heading to the front of the train. "Let's go this way." He ordered simply.

After a mean glare back and fixing her sunglasses, Potato sighed and followed Khaz.

* * *

Cyan sighed as she heard the door open to the compartment. She looked to the direction and had to hide a gasp that tried to escape. She saw a royal guards hoof, slowly looking around the room.

The pony on the bed above Cyan got up quicker than somepony hearing an alarm could. "Sir? Is there a problem?" She asked to the royal guard.

"Well," The voice boomed back. Cyan struggled as she climbed out the front of the bed, avoiding the guard and looking at the door, hoping to get out safely. "There seems to be a mare who got on the train… illegally." He informed.

The pony gasped as she got up and off the bed. "Well, I think I heard a voice from under my bed, earlier…" She admitted and started shaking at the thought.

The royal guard was started to get down to the ground. Now was her chance! She leaped for the door and opened it. She smiled as she ran out, feeling free like a bird. "HEY!" The voice yelled. Cyan felt joy leave her as fear took over. She had been spotted…

The royal guard was at a quick search for her, chasing her outside. Cyan quickly climbed the ladder back to the top of the train and started sliding to the front of the train. As quick as a whip, the guard jumped onto the train's top and looked at the mysterious mare. He could tell she was scared, even with all the robes and difficult to see face. "Look, here, criminal… I know you made a terrible choice, so I'm going to give you a second chance. Come with me and spend only one night in the dungeon, or refuse and spend 30 nights in the dungeon, deal?" He asked calmly, trying to calm the mare.

Cyan started thinking the deal over… what would a brave pony do? She felt more fear come into her. Wouldn't they find out that she's Cyan Heart if they took her to the dungeon? Wouldn't Khaz find out, putting her plans to follow him secretly to vain? She had to think of something… But, what? She looked down, letting the guard know that she was pondering on her choices. Well, she hoped that's what he thought, because she was really looking for a quick escape route. Her eyes widened as things took a drastic turn for the worse. The rain had been taking the fur dye off of her leg, revealing a dark shade of cyan colored fur on her.

The guard raised an eyebrow then gasped. "Wait… it's you!" He took out his lance, preparing to take a chance at attacking her. Despite the rain, she could feel the paint taking its course at making her day worse, as the wind started to blow the hat off. Cyan quickly caught the hat and gulped, she knew he had seen her horn in time, too. "And you have a horn? Then I no longer have doubt… It's you, the assassin that's been getting away with it all… Spice!" He yelled and took a step closer.

Spice? Cyan wondered. She had never heard of such a pony… did she really resemble her? Well, she'd have to, ofcourse. Or she wouldn't be having some guard suddenly assault her for her looks, alone. She had to think of something, fighting was something she had never even tried to do, yet alone fight a whole royal guard.

The train was starting to speed up even more and a warning horn went off. _What was that? _Cyan pondered. Knowing something was up, she turned her head to look in the direction that the train was moving and regretted that choice. They were heading straight for a tunnel…

* * *

The giant stallion opened the door to the next compartment. "Well, hopefully this one will have the mysterious mare in it… right, Potato?" He asked quietly.

The mare smiled, trying to keep her spirit up. "Try six is always the best… So, let's go ahead and try." She stated in a bored tone, almost painfully boring sounding one. They started to look around the room, with Khaz searching the upper bunks and Potato looking under the beds of the lower bunks. Like the rest of the compartments they had faced, though, there was no sign of this supposedly illegal pony. "Please tell me I wasn't just dreaming it or something…" Potato sighed in disappointment.

Khaz shook his head towards her as he looked over his shoulder from the top bunk. "No, Potato. You wouldn't imagine something so threatening, would you?" He asked, hoping he didn't go crazy and imagined Potato altogether himself. "Surely she's just hiding really well. Maybe she even has a device to be invisible or spell…" He suggested.

The mare looked up at him and frowned. "I might have, but I highly doubt I just' imagined' a guard getting flipped onto his back. So, I have to be telling the truth." She announced sarcastically.

Khaz jumped off of the bed and landed onto the floor in the middle of the compartment. "I'm finding it hard to believe that we haven't seen her, yet. Do you think she's sti-" He was cut off as the whole train went dark, due to the train entering a tunnel. "Nevermind… I doubt the thief is still up there, unless the pony's a ghost." He sighed.

Potato seemed doubtful… "Let's check the front of the train, perhaps the pony's trying to steal the train." She guessed. Khaz nodded, not liked they had much chance, right? They headed to the front of the train, not bothering to search the rest of the compartments. Light returned to the train as quickly as it left.

They continued to the front of the train and ran into the last compartment. Then they saw a royal guard… in the outfit of the mysterious pony! There were guards surrounding the pony, some looked sad, others were angry.

Potato gasped. "W-what's going on!?" She asked quickly, getting the attention of the guards. The guards looked hesitant to answer her.

A Pegasus royal guard took the silence into his favor, ignoring the other guards. "This royal guard has betrayed us… it's obvious that he was the one in the suit! He must have tried to hide in this petty outfit." He explained, knowing that he had a high chance of being wrong, but had to try.

A Unicorn royal guard frowned in doubt. "Hold on, hold on. What if he was just trying to stop the thief?" He tried to defend his fellow guard, trying to refuse the possibility that they had a traitor. "He's not conscious! This is an unfair argument!" He yelled at the other guards.

Khaz and Potato exchanged looks. What were they going to do in this sort of argument? It wasn't exactly the best idea to interrupt royal arguments.

Potato fixed her sunglasses and took them off real fast and looked around, before putting them back on. "Well, atleast he's not bleeding." She stated, trying to help.

Khaz nodded casually. "That would be unfortunate." He agreed.

The Pegasus guard pushed the attack again. "Then explain where the 'thief' is?" He taunted. "It's obvious he took a large blow and the rain had made the roof slippery." He tried to explain.

Potato wanted to join in on the argument, but was lost for words. If she told them that she had seen that had grey fur, they might think that she was the mysterious pony… She stopped herself from talking and put a hoof on Khaz's front hoof. He looked down to her and raised an eyebrow. "We should be going…" Potato whispered, worried about the outcome of this argument. Khaz nodded silently and the two headed back to there compartment.

Khaz looked around the rooms, hoping to find some sort of explanation that would prove the guard to be innocent. He found this odd to even himself, since he didn't really like royal guards. Shrugging it off for now, they entered their compartment.

Potato sighed. "We'll be in Canterlot in the morning… So, I'm going to go ahead and sleep. Tonight's been chaotic enough for this mare." She commented.

Khaz nodded. "I understand." He simply said and went over to his bed. He looked out the window at the passing stars and looked back to Potato, who was already lying down. "Goodnight." He told her and got into his own bed, across the compartment.

He watched the stars pass and sighed quietly as he blew the lights out, taking out any light that was in their compartment. _Well, I'll be in Canterlot tomorrow… but, why do I feel so… empty? _What was hurting his feelings suddenly? He decided to ignore it and kept watching the stars, it was helping make him sleepy, after all. He started pondering on what it would be like if he had been nicer to Cyan… How could he never realize the stress he had been putting on her? What could she be doing now? Perhaps she was still at home, possible crying, possible happy that he was gone. Khaz felt sadder at these thoughts, but he kept thinking about it, without meaning to. He stared back out the window, deciding to stare at the Moon, wondering what if was like looking at Equestria from there. Lonely… was the only word he could find… He started feeling himself sob silently.

"A-are you okay, Khaz?" A voice called to him. Khaz swept the tears away quickly, shocked that she was able to hear him, definitely with how hard he was trying to be quiet.

"Yes… I'm fine. Just go to sleep." He quickly ordered her, trying to avoid this conversation the best he could.

Potato was heard sighing before agreed. "Fine, but I'm here if you need somepony to listen." She offered and lied back down onto her bed.

Canterlot was going to be seen in the morning, which is all Khaz was worried about…


	2. Canterlot meetings

The bright sun shined down on Canterlot, making the town seem to be covered in glitter. Tall buildings towered the smaller buildings, making them seem like normal houses. Busy ponies traveled around with their muzzles stuck in the air, feeling superior to everypony else. Potato was filled with excitement, she had already started looking out the window at the houses, hoping to find some sort of clue which one was Sickle's. The train was starting to slow down like a pony sliding across a soapy floor.

Potato couldn't hide her impatience anymore. She got out the mega horn and pressed the button quickly and rapidly. "Khaz! We're here! We're in Canterlot." She cheered, yelling almost as loud as the train's whistle. She leaped over to his bed and hopped onto it. "GET! UP!" She yelled.

The agitated stallion opened his eyes, feeling like this was his rudest wake up call. "Cyan!" He yelled. "Stop it, I'm awake!" He ordered.

The mare put on her sunglasses and played what he said back through her mind again. "Cyan? I'm not Cyan. I'm Potato…" She pointed out, feeling like she just learned something. "Who's Cyan, Khaz?" She asked.

Khaz sighed. How could he let that slip? He knew Potato wasn't going to let him go until he answered. "She's just a mare I met." He tried lying again, which seemed to him to be the hardest thing ever.

"If you just met her, you wouldn't have been used to this Cyan being the one that woke you up… SO… Who is she?" Potato quickly explained and smiled innocently.

Agitation… was the only word Khaz could think of. "She's… just my best friend." He hesitated.

The mare shrugged. "Okay." She answered, feeling left out. "Well, come on, I want off this train!" She rushed and gave him his luggage with her magic. Khaz got up and felt his mane, which felt like a big mess.

The mane wasn't the only thing that was going to be a mess, though. Khaz followed Potato, mostly cause she knew where she was going and he didn't feel like thinking. They got to the exit of the train, where two guards were waiting.

"Luggage, please." The Pegasus guard demanded. Khaz sighed and put his large luggage down, knowing that this wan't going to be easy. The guard was quick to look in it. He raised an eyebrow and took the pill bottle out. He observed the bright yellow case and looked to Khaz. "What's this for?" He demanded.

Khaz rolled his eyes. _Ofcourse they think I'm the criminal… As that one guard at the station said: You like the criminal type. _"That's just a gift I had gotten from an important friend…" He told the guard.

The guard gave a suspicious look. "What's her name? Is it Spice?" He asked, feeling that the stallion was going to make a run for it.

Khaz looked the guard in the eyes and frowned and gave a look of pure hatred. "Actually, his name is Lezley, understand? Good, now move." He ordered.

He backed down and felt fear. "Y-yes s-sir… S-sorry for the d-delay." The guard stuttered and moved aside. "H-have a nice d-day…"

Khaz started to walk over to Potato, who had been waiting at the tea shop. She decided to strike a topic up. "So? I guess this is where we split up, isn't it?" She asked with a sigh and frowned.

The stallion shrugged. "I suppose it is. Well…" He started to think.

Potato felt a smile form, but quickly hid it. "Well what? Wait… you have no place to stay, do you?" She asked and felt joy surge through her, hoping to help her new friend even more. "I always like helping friends." She told him.

Khaz nodded. "I hadn't thought about where I was going to st-"

"GREAT!" Potato cheered, throwing the giant off balance with her sudden cheer. "I know the perfect place…"

* * *

Cyan was already deep into Canterlot. That trip on the train had gotten all the royal guards tripped up, so she had gotten away quiet easily. Especially with framing the guard in her place. She had used her amazing acrobatic skills to jump onto the mountain above the tunnel and used magic to save the guard, but still framed him to give herself some cover. "Now for the biggest problem… finding Khaz." Cyan told herself, wondering why he was even GOING in Canterlot.

She had used her old house for resting, she knew it was still locked and she had the key hidden in town. She knew it was a tricky, but useful trick.

"Canterlot express! Get your copy here!" A pony yelled, carrying a stack of newspapers. "Murder of Sir Rudolg in Canterlot! Read all about it!" Cyan felt her eyes widened. She HAD to get this paper. She had known about Rudolg for a while now, he was a great magic user and was next in line to be as famous as Star Swirl the Bearded. These thoughts troubled her and stumbled as she made her way across the street.

"E-excuse me…?" She asked, feeling a wave of sadness consume her. "M-mur-"

The news pony nodded quickly. "Yes, murder…" He stated and pushed a newspaper over to her. "Only one bit, ma'am…" He smiled, but then frowned again. He couldn't keep a smile with how sad she looked.

Cyan hooved over a bit and picked up the newspaper, before walking to the nearest bench. She climbed onto the bench and started to relax on it, then opened the newspaper. The front page was as noticeable as the news pony's yelling. She read the words: "'Murder at the Mansion of sir Rudolg.'" Cyan winced in fear. "Sir Rudolg? Dead!? He was an amazing magic user! How… why would somepony hurt him?" She gasped and started to continue reading. "'It seems that an assassin of high skill was able to enter the mansion and was searching the mansion for something that's unknown at this point in time. It seems that Rudolg accidentally found this pony and was murdered on the spot. The royal guards have been searching the mansion for more clues, but this is all they could find in this point in time.'" She read.

"Reading the paper, are you?" A voice suddenly called from behind her. Cyan froze, feeling that she wasn't in a position to move. A hoof went onto her head and started to stroke her mane, then down to her back, then repeated the process. "So, how has it been in Ponyville?" The voice asked.

Cyan felt herself go red in the face, and tried to hide it. "Hello… Lezley?" She questioned, scared to turn her blushing face toward the stallion. "Is that you?" She asked in a quiver of a voice.

Lezley laughed. "It's been about a year since I've last seen you, and you still remember me? I knew I was important to you." He joked and walked around to the front of the bench. "How have you been in Ponyville?" He asked, playing casual.

Cyan felt redder as she stuffed her head into the newspaper. "Aren't you supposed to be on duty?" She remarked quickly, trying to get him to shoo. "I'm serious, too."

Lezley smiled and decided to change the topic. "Well, serious business there." He stated and pointed at the paper as Cyan got her head out of the paper. "I was the one that found the dead body, actually. I never want to see a body with open eyes that won't blink… Or the stiffness of a body that's like a cinderblock." He explained as best he could.

Cyan Heart winced at the perfect description that had been given to her. "I see… Who did it, though?" She asked her old friend. "Who would kill Rudolg? Heck, who would be able to?" She asked, fearing that they had some sort of disaster on their hooves.

The royal guard nodded. "I can understand your confusion." He admitted. "Well, it wasn't a 'fair' kill." He explained and started to fiddle with the helmet. "Rudolg was sick when this thief, or assassin, as some call the possible pony, entered the mansion and killed him when he walked in on the crime." He informed her of the events. "A book of spells was sitting out, which makes us question the events that had gone on." He continued, and started to pet her again, this time for comfort. "The body had a slice across the neck and his horn and been torn off. Whoever this pony had been, they weren't very nice to Rudolg at all." He grimly told her and took his helmet off.

Cyan sighed. "Who would do such a thing? I doubt it was due to honor, for obvious reasons." She started to assume the story for herself. "Do you have any clues? Oh, and stop petting me, this isn't like it was back when we were in school, you know." She joked and giggled.

Lezley chuckled and put his helmet onto her head. "Yes, Ma'am!" He played along and saluted her. "Well, the first two clues are that a book of spells volume 2 was lying out and about. The other clue was a sidetable that was, for some reason, moved to the center of the room." He told and started to think about it, himself. "Lastly that we know, is that the murder weapon was a knife, but, a rather sharp knife." He descripted. "So, Captain Cyan, what do you think?" He curiously asked, doubting that she had found out.

Cyan stared blankly at the newspaper. He started to smirk at her expression. He thought that she was being clueless, like she had always been when she was younger. But, to his surprise… Cyan spoke up suddenly. "What type of pony was the murderer?" She asked, with a look of determination on her face.

Lezley was stunned by her sudden question, which he never thought could be important to the case. "Well, we assume that i-"

"It was a unicorn." Cyan pointed out, before he could finish. "It had to have been." She demanded of the case.

Lezley shook his head. "There's no way it could have been a unicorn that had done that." He tried to object. "Rudolg has his house magic-proofed." He explained.

Cyan shook her head in refusal. "Yes, magic proofed. But, not unicorn proofed." She told him, finally starting to piece everything together in her head.

The royal guard couldn't believe her. There was no way that she got the whole story down in little to no time at all while there investigators had been trying to piece everything together for the past couple of days. "Well, try to explain everything to me, then. I can't believe you would figure it out, Cyan." He tried to calmly put his doubt to her head.

The little mare giggled. "You still think I'm a little, clumsy, nitwitted mare, don't you?" She asked bluntly. "Well, let me explain… nicely." She added, feeling that the stress that had been going on for the past day had done to her mind. Angered already? Yeah… It was getting to her. "Well, one last question before I make my assumption." She ordered and he nodded quickly. "Where did this intruder come from? The roof, right?" She asked him, hoping that her guess was correct and right on the spot.

Lezley finally accepted the fact that Cyan was on to something. "Why, yes…" He started. "It was the roof… Say, how did you get so good at this, anyways?" He picked. "Wait… You're not the criminal, are you?" He joked, trying to put it into a friendly manor.

Cyan giggled. "Ofcourse not, Lezley." She responded, totally oblivious to his suspicions. "Well, I think it was quite obvious that the pony was a unicorn." She informed.

Lezley winced and decided to try to get her off topic. He was worried that she was the one that was behind it now and she was a unicorn who knew the info before he explained ALL of it. "So, Cyan… Let's get off of that topic for now, okay?" He told her as he took his helmet from her. "I've missed you…" He started to flirt and rubbed his hoof down her back again.

Cyan felt her face go red again. "I told you… I just want to be friends…" She tried to stop his approach.

It was true that they had tried dating back in school, when they were about to graduate, but with Lezley wanting to be a guard of Celestia, herself, And Cyan wanting to go to ponyville… It wouldn't have worked. They had spent the launches together, played on the playground together. But, most importantly, were the slinky pieces… Cyan used these to define which ponies had become her best of friends and knew they were trustworthy. Lezley had one on his back right hoof, and only took it off when he was on duty, so, he had taken it off at the moment. Cyan sat there, keeping her slinky pieces still. "Cyan… don't be so shy… Now that you're here, maybe it can work." He started to play with her buttons, trying to find out which combination would woo the mare.

Cyan blushed to a bright red. "L-Lezley… what's the point of this?" She questioned.

"Ah ah ah." He teased and shook his hoof back and forth. "If anypony is being investigated… It's little Cyan." He played and put his hoof near the front of the bench. "Back in a secluded space… perhaps my bedroom?" He tried his best to tempt her, but to no avail, she wasn't going to fall for it.

"NO, Lezley." Cyan sternly and clearly stated. "I don't have time to be in your bedroom doing… stuff, okay?" She demanded him to stop. "Now then, I need to report my findings…" She told him, grabbed the paper, and started to walk off toward Rudolg's Mansion.

Lezley stood, shocked with disbelief as he stood there. She had quickly declined his offer, which he was going to use to keep her away from the investigation. Also, she had headed for the place he was trying to keep her away from! "C-Cy-yan!" He gasped. "… What has she just gotten herself into!?" If he was allowed to yell, it would've been heard across Canterlot.

* * *

Khaz was walking around the town, feeling better that he knew the place from the years of living in Canterlot when he was younger. Now it was Potato who was looking around the town, trying to capture the all the beauty of the town in one go. "Wow… How was it, living here, Khaz?" Potato asked, keeping her glasses on, getting sight of everything possible.

Khaz chuckled. "Canterlot isn't that great, Potato." He commented. "It was okay… Living here isn't exactly the best thing ever." He bluntly admitted. "Well, not to me." He added.

The mare giggled to herself, thinking that is was normal due to his blunt attitude. "Oh, I bet it was the finest time of your life." She commented. Khaz chuckled, finding great humor in what she said.

"Where are we going, anyways?" Khaz asked feeling that he had seen that same tea shop for the tenth time. "Aren't we on the way to visit the trusty garden toy?" He joked.

Potato sighed and felt like she was going to slap him. "Please stop insulting Sickle… She's done more than you have." She rudely told him.

_Feisty…_ Khaz thought. She's getting really mad about his comments on this friend of hers. "Sounds like you two are BFFs." He commented. "Is that safe to assume?" He added, hoping to sound nicer.

Potato nodded. "We've been friends for a long while, actually. I'm glad I met her, and I'm pretty sure she thinks the same." She finished, fully confident with the words she spoke.

Khaz smiled. "Oh, is that where you want me to stay? I bet it is." He assumed. "I hope she has a pretty good, clean house to stay in." He commented. "She's a clean, uptight pony, correct?"

Potato rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure she knows how to take care of herself, Khaz." She bickered.

Khaz nodded as they walked up some nice, rich stairs to a large walkway of rooms. The giant stallion recognized the place, easily. He had lived around here when he was a young colt, so naturally, he could tell that the rooms were all uniquely made and that behind each door was a marvelous house for plenty of ponies. "She lives here?" He asked casually. "I'm glad she can stay near these other high-class ponies." He stated.

Potato giggled. "You'll enjoy the company that she has around, I'm sure…" She commented and walked up to one of the doors. It had an amazing rune- like symbol on it. It had a grey background with yellow streaks through it.

Khaz stopped staring at the door and raised his hoof, about to knock. He looked to Potato for a nod or shake. She eagerly nodded and hopped up and down. Khaz knocked on the door and stood back. The door opened and a dark blue pony, with an unusual amount of clothes on her body, came out. She was really covered, so the most he couldn't see too much of her. She had a white mane and tail, and ears that looked like she had been in an accident with clippers, they were obviously ripped. Lastly, she had large glasses around her eyes, probably to protect her from eyes that were looking to find out her eye color. The clothed-up mare backed away at the sight of him. "H-helloz…" She stuttered. Khaz instantly noticed her odd accent. Well, odd to him, anyways. Was this Sickle? She seemed rather scared…

Potato jumped up and got the clothed-up mare's attention. "Spice!" She cheered. "Is Sickle home!?" She hastily asked and ran into the house anyways.

Khaz looked down at the little mare. "Uhh… I came here with Potato." He explained as simply as possible. "May I come in?"

Spice hesitated, but had no real choice at the moment. He HAD arrived with Potato, after all. "Zure, you mayz." She quickly said, hoping to get away from the towering stallion before her. "Comez in."

Khaz walked in slowly and started to observe the room. It was a beautiful room, with a beautiful rug next to the queen sized bed. There were two dressers around the room, one in front of the window, and the other next to the queen sized bed. Two hallways, one on each side of the room, which led to long corridors that were entry ways to the other rooms. "This is a beautiful place you have here, Spice." Khaz complimented the building. "So, who all lives here?" He asked quickly.

Spice stared blankly for a second. "Thiz plaze izn't mine." She proclaimed. "Ze plaze is owned by Zickle, not I." She informed and moved aside to let him in. "Zickle, Zhining, and I are herez." She added on before he had entered.

Khaz chuckled to himself at the mare's fear of him on the spot. Was he really that scary? "Oh, Sickle runs the place… ofcourse." He mumbled. _How important could this pony be, anyhow? "_I'll be… finding Potato now." He told the mare and started to walk into the house.

Potato came out of the hallway dragging another mare out. This mare had an orange coat and bright light blue mane and tail… She was an odd one, however, for she also had some zebra stripes on her, telling Khaz that one of her parents must've been a zebra. The other odd thing was that she had stallion-like hooves, even though she was clearly a mare. Her stripes and hooves were a nice bright white. She had that same amazing rune shape as her cutie mark, too. She had light blue eyes. Potato giggled as she brought the zebra-ish mare out into the open. "Come out, Sickle." She ordered.

The zebra-ish mare got up and sighed. "Potato, I was working on my skills, you know?"

Potato snickered. "Well, DUH! But, anyways! Look! I brought a new friend over!" She cheered and watched Sickle for her expression.

Sickle looked up at Khaz. "Tall, that's for sure…" She admitted. "Well, anyways, hello! I'm Sickle." She greeted and held a hoof out.

Khaz started to shake her hoof slowly. "I've heard a lot about you, Sickle, from Potato." He told her. "So, I'm guessing you're important."

Sickle winced slightly. "I guess so… I don't like bragging, though." She informed. "So, who are you?"

"Khaz." He answered simply. "I'm guessing this is the place Potato wants me to stay?" He assumed.

Sickle nodded. "I'd be happy to have another guest here." The zebra-ish mare agreed. "So… uh, let me go get your room cleared out. Florence was here recently and I really need to clean it out." She informed and started to go to the back room that was down the back hallway.

The clothed up mare, Spice, had taken this time to build lots of distance from Khaz. Potato noticed this, so she decided to go ahead and distract the stallion. "Uh… Khaz, I was wondering…" She started, trying to figure out a random question to keep him busy. "What's it like, farming?" She asked and smiled, trying to hide her fake question.

Khaz shrugged. "It's okay." He finished before turning to Spice. "I'd like to talk to her." He admitted. "I want to know everypony before I stay here." This statement put Spice into immediate fear. She gulped, but kept standing still, pretending to not be afraid. He started to walk over to her in large steps, not noticing her attempt to stay away. "So, tell me about yourself." He meant to ask, but the question came out sounding like an order.

Spice felt overwhelmed suddenly. "I-I'm… Spice…" She told him through quivered shudders. "I'm an-…" She hesitated badly. "Maidz…" She told him, with an upside down smile. "Yez, I cleanz ze plaze. T-that'z all, reallyz." She looked down, becoming very shy.

The stallion wasn't amused. "Are you sure that's it?" He questioned and chuckled. "That's no maid suit."

He told her and started to give her more room.

"T-truez… I-uh… Zickle thinkz thiz iz a maidz outfit… zo I wear itz!" She nervously answered. "Iz that okayz?" She asked him, hoping to get him to back off fully.

He shrugged, then found an issue in her response. "Then why do you have an eye guard? Don't you need to see different colors to clean? It's definitely not a clean eye guard." He commented. She felt defeat coming to her soon. She had to stop his questions.

Spice looked around and tried to buy some time. "It'z becauze I'm worriedz about my eyez…" She claimed. "I don'tz mean to zeem weird… Zorry." She apologized, watching Khaz's movements.

"I just don't understand it much, but, I guess I'll stop asking about it. So, what about your accent? It's quite easy to notice, I will say." He stated bluntly.

Hesitation was starting to become natural with her. She kept feeling shyer and shyer the more the conversation pressed on. "I-it'z nothingz…" She tried to state, but came back to it. "It'z normal where I'm fromz." She informed the stallion.

"…I see." Khaz responded. "Is there something wrong? You are really quiet all of a sudden." He pointed out. "Did I do something wrong?"

Potato giggled and walked over. "Spice is shy of stallions… It's sorta funny." She commented.

Spice turned and looked at the mare making a comment out of her. "It'z not funnyz!" She snapped. "Zorry, Khaz, But, I am zcared of ztallionz…" She finally admitted.

Khaz sighed. "Should have told me earlier…"

Sickle came back out and waved to Khaz as he turned to see her. "Hey, Khaz! The rooms all clear. Go ahead and move your stuff into it, if you wish." She called and came out to hug Potato, who cheerfully hugged back. "Oh, and Spice, would you mind making some of your famous lettuce rolls?" She added.

Spice nodded as Khaz left the room, down to his temporary room. "Yez, Zickle." She agreed and went ahead to the kitchen. Making the Lettuce rolls took a long time… So Potato suggested they go help Khaz, which Sickle agreed to. They walked down the hall and Potato peeked into the room, before Sickle just walked in and suggested their help. Khaz nodded and they got to work…

* * *

Cyan had finally made it to the mansion, which, as she knew, was surrounded by guards. "Yes!" the clumsy mare cheered and started to rush over to the captain, who seemed to be taking his duty seriously. "Sir!"

The captain looked down to Cyan. "Huh? Do you need something, miss?" He asked.

"Well…" Cyan began. "I think I know who and how the pony managed to get in and murder Rudolg!" She suddenly told him, catching the guard off guard.

"Excuse me?" He loudly asked. "Did you just say what I think you just said?" He asked, feeling that he was staring right at the culprit, now. Like they always say, after all, the criminal always returns to the crime scene. "Ma'am, I'd like you to explain yourself." He added.

Cyan nodded, feeling her heart sink because of the guard's firm stare. "Well, I believe…" She started and got out a map layout of the castle that Lezley had given her. "The culprit is a unicorn, who broke in from the roof, and had-"

"CYAN!" A voice yelled and she felt herself suddenly get lifted into the air. "There you are!" Lezley yelled to her and started to hug her against her will.

"L-Lezley!?" Cyan shrieked. "Don't do that!" She snapped and slapped Lezley, causing him to chuckle.

"Yeah… I suppose I shouldn't have done that…" He slowly realized and flew down and put her back on the ground. "Anyways… I came to stop you from telling them." He admitted. She was about to open her muzzle to respond, but he quickly added. "Look… If you, I doubt, ARE right about everything, then they'll throw you into the dungeon! You're a unicorn, too! They'll think it's you if you tell them the whole story on what you think is right or not! Don't you see that?" He explained as quickly as possible.

Cyan giggled. "I suppose you do have a point. Did you really have to swoop in like that!? Now the captain is going to think that you're in on it, too…" She tried to point out. "Aren't you worried?"

"Eh… Not really. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have believed you, anyways." He picked and looked around the streets to see if anypony was watching them or not. "You are to stay away from the crime area, understand?" He ordered. " I will not let you go to jail, clumsy mare." He joked.

The cyan mare rolled her eyes as she frowned. "Why do you think I have no control over my own actions?" She asked, feeling offended. "Jeez, Lezley. Could you leave me alone for now, I have something else I need to do, anyways." She quickly bickered right at him and turned to leave.

Lezley winced as he watched her trot off in annoyance. "Yeah… I've been getting on her nerves… That's for sure. Maybe I'll let her go for now, then we'll talk later." He nodded to himself.

* * *

"Huh…" Khaz chuckled. "I guess you two really were serious." He admitted, looking around the beautiful room that had been set up. The three of them together had set up all his stuff and made a really good bedroom. "Thanks, Potato and Sickle. You two are really helpful." He complimented. "But, are you sure you want me to stay here? I don't want to bother you, or anything." He added in a worried tone.

Sickle shook her head. "I told you, Khaz, I'd be happy to have you around. I'm not lying, either. So please! Feel free to stay." She invited and started to leave the room. "I'll go check on Spice, you'll be okay, right?"

Potato interrupted. "Yup! He'll be fine! Let's go!" She rushed and puched Sickle down the hall with a happy smile on her face. "I'm hungry!"

Khaz chuckled. He hadn't seen such happy friends before in his life. Usually somepony had an issue with the other… like Cyan and he had. He sighed at the thought and looked out the window to the beautiful view of Canterlot. He wanted to sing home, sweet home… but, no. This wasn't really HIS home after all. This was the home of three ponies by the name of Sickle, Spice, and Shining. He supposed that Potato was staying here as well… Wait. Where was she staying, then? He didn't steal her room by accident, did he? Should he go apologize to the mare? Why should he? She seemed perfectly happy with helping him all this time. He shrugged and assumed that Potato was probably going to share a room with Sickle, anyhow. He stood up from his rather peaceful rest to go check out what was going on. He wanted to get down and comfortable with the rest of the ponies… if Spice would let him.

Upon walking down the hall he heard whispers. Whispers of what? Should he ease drop? He stopped at the edge of the corner and started to listen.

"Shouldn't we just tell him? It's not very polite to be keeping secrets from guests, is it?" Came Potato's voice… very quiet, but still hearable.

Sickle sighed out loud. "Well, I suppose it isn't, but, if he knew the truth, he wouldn't be staying here, now would he?" She explained to her BFF.

Potato nodded and started to pace silently around the room. "So, we just keep it a secret? He's going to find out sooner or later, Sickle." She tried to convince. "Wouldn't it be better to tell him now?"

Sickle shook her head. "Not yet. If we tell him now, he'd surely leave. Plus, I think he is the stallion we've been needing to help us find out what's been happening at home. So, we'll tell him about our plans later, shall we?" She insisted and started to walk back to the kitchen. "Spice, you done?" She yelled.

Khaz stopped and started to think from behind the corner. What exactly did they need from him? Could it be because he was a giant, or what could it be? They were planning a trip for him, too… which worried him. He wasn't really willing to go some crazy expedition with these ponies, not in a long time… He had just met them, anyhow! How could they just think they could force him to help? He decided to walk out into the living room once he heard them build a large distance from the hallway. "Hello." He simply stated out to the two mares that were across the room.

Sickle waved back with a stern look. "Come on, Spice…" She rushed. "It doesn't usually take this long."

It was true, too. Spice wasn't taking her time to make the rolls, she was just too scared to come out due to her phobia of stallions. She was taking as long as possible so she didn't have to see him much.

Potato giggled as Sickle stomped into the room and snatched Spice by her glasses and dragged her into the room. "Now pass them out." She ordered. "We're hungry and Potato needs her meals." Spice nodded and gave the plates each to the Sickle and Potato, before turning to Khaz and started shivering. Instead of giving the plate directly to him, she placed it onto the floor near him and ran back into the kitchen to 'get her own plate', which was an obvious lie to Sickle. The three started to eat their meals while each thought of what to say first. Khaz noticed how delicious the lettuce rolls were and thought about complimenting her, but knew she would be too scared, anyways. "So…" Sickle began… thinking of what to say.

Khaz beat her to the topic, though. "Tell me," He began. "What's with the stripes? Zebra mother?"

She nodded slightly but surely. "Well, actually, it's my father. Either way, yes, it was a zebra parent."

Potato decided to throw a random comment out, like she always loved to do. "I have a large family."

The striped mare giggled, hiding her annoyance of randomness. "I know, Potato… I've met them."

Khaz took another bite out of the rolls and decided to compliment the shy pony in the kitchen. "I don't see why she hides. She's an amazing cook." He told them, before finishing the meal and walked to the kitchen to put his plate away. Potato fixed the ribbon on her head and waited to hear Spice's scream. It never came, though as Khaz came back out and went back to the side of the room near the hall to his room.

With a wide grin of her face, Potato bluntly yelled out. "Spice is scared of stallions!" She informed. "That's why she stays away from you, and is shaking like a blender with an iceberg in it." This made Khaz raise an eyebrow.

Sickle sighed and gave Potato a serious grin. "Really? Did you have to tell him all that?" She asked sternly, ready to pounce.

The mare fled to the kitchen as Sickle kept an eye on her. Khaz chuckled, finding amusement in Potato, once again. "I see that you have problems with her, sometimes?" He asked.

The zebra-ish mare nodded. "Well, I have to deal with a lot of stuff around these times of the day. Anyways… is it okay if Spice has a phobia of you? I know it may be annoying to purposely avoid a pony, but, she'd appreciate it."

Khaz winced, this was going against what he had wanted to do. "I hate to be a burden, but I don't think I want to. Spice seems like a nice mare, and I want to have a chance to talk to her." He stated.

_Ofcourse he does._ Sickle thought with a sigh. "Okay, fine. Just don't torment her too much, I need her to stay here. You'll scare her off if she gets too nervous of other ponies."

With a quick nod, Khaz agreed. "I understand." With that, Khaz started to head back to his bedroom. "So, your name is Sickle?" He double checked. The zebra-ish mare nodded. "Okay, I was checking." He told her and headed back to his room. _Great…_ Khaz thought. _Everything always seems to go against my plans in some sort of way, doesn't it? Oh well, I'll have to deal with it and try to get along with those ponies… _He opened his door and walked in and right over to his new bed. Now with barely anything to distract him, he felt he was going to enjoy his stay here with Sickle, Potato, Spice, and… who was that last name? He started to pondered at the thought. He swear he had heard the name before even coming into the building. Or was he playing games with his own head? After a long while he finally giving up, he couldn't remember it. He probably figured it was another mare, though. For one, Spice was around. And two, the rest seemed to be mares, as well.

Knock knock said the door. _That knocking sound, I swear…_ He thought as he got up and went over to the door. He really wanted the pony on the other side to be Cyan, for once, but knew it wasn't going to happen. She was still in ponyville after all. He opened the door to the zebra-ish mare, Sickle, again. "Oh. You again? What do you want?" He asked as she stared up at him. Khaz noticed that her back had some sort of large bruise on it, as if somepony had tried to hurt her, recently. He ignored this and decided to let her speak.

Sickle held out a piece of paper to him, it was a map of the building. "I save a coupled of these for my new guests that decide to stay at my place for a while." She informed as Khaz picked up the paper and examined it's details. "Oh, and I'm betting that you're looking forward to exploring Canterlot tomorrow, right?" She asked.

Khaz nodded as he read the map. "That is correct." He bluntly answered. He noticed that the left hall barely had any stuff in it. The only rooms he noticed were Sickle's room, and the one across from it called 'Secret Room'. He decided to ignore it, since he knew Sickle probably wouldn't tell him, anyways. "Is there something that you wanted to warn me about?" He asked as he continued to study the map.

"Well," She started. "Yes. It seems that Sir Rudolg has been slain yesterday." She informed him. "You know what that means \, right?" She questioned as she looked down the hallway real fast.

Khaz nodded with a serious face and spoke in a bored tone. "That there's going to be a bunch of guards out. I know." He told her and put his hoof out into the hallway. "What's the problem with that?" He questioned, feeling that the mare was claiming him to be some sort of criminal. "Guards are good for the town."

"Yes, they are. But, that means that even the slightest mistakes might put you on their list of 'suspect'. Look, just be careful out there, okay?" Sickle instructed, and then looked down at his hoof. "See? You may have crossed the line before you even realized." She commented.

The giant stallion chuckled. "I see what you mean. Now I'm going to relax, see you soon." He told her and put a hoof on the door. Sickle nodded and walked into back down the hallway as Khaz shut the door.

* * *

Cyan smiled as she walked down the streets, enjoying the view and taking her time to look around. She felt no guilt as she recalled how illegal she was being, feeling free and untouched by the law was the most enjoyable feeling she's been having for the past day. She didn't have to worry about anything at all, except her slinky, ofcourse. The slinky was still around her hooves, clanking every now and then, but not really bothering anypony. She decided to continue her journey to more places where she could possible sneak past the law and explore all she wanted. Then, the thought struck her. It was perfect! She could always go into Celestia's chamber! Why didn't she do it sooner?

Turning around and hoping for some sort of clue, she spotted the giant castle right away. "That must be it!" Cyan cheered and started to head straight for her new destination. "Ugh… This is going to take a while." She admitted as she started to walk past a pie baker shop. She sniffed the air and smelled some blueberry pie. "GASP!" She cheered and looked over to the shop. "PIE! I love pie!" She quickly entered the shop and started to look around. The pie baker was currently busy, so she decided to go ahead and sit down, taking a break. She took the paper back out and started scrolling through it, looking for some other interesting news. "Huh? 'Mail pony gets promoted for doing such a good job and delivering mail at a unreasonable speed.'" Cyan read and giggled. "I'd like to be able to do that…" She pondered on how fun it would be to be able to move that fast and deliver letters. She snapped out of it and looked at the paper. "Wait… there's no name for the pony? Surely he or she has a name." Cyan realized. "She's not a no-name, is she?"

"Yes, she has no name." A mare silently whispered to her. Cyan gasped, she hadn't seen this pony that was sitting across the table at all! This mare had some red looking eyes due to being tired, she had such a small, happy smile, though. She had peachy fur and yellow mane and tail. The mane had a rather dirty blonde in it, as well. Her mane looked really messy and her cutie mark was a bluish box with a green diamond through it. She smiled again at Cyan. "Hi." She simply greeted.

Cyan looked around and wondered where this pony had come from. "How long have you been there?" She asked, afraid that she had lost her sense of hearing or something. " I hadn't noticed you."

The mare simply giggled. "I was copying your hoof steps, but anyways… I'm Scarlet." She greeted. "I have my own paper, too. Let's read together." She simply said in a tired tone. "I was reading about the Mail Pony, too." She informed and showed the paper to Cyan. "It's intriguing."

Cyan felt nervous around this mare, but decided to talk along. "Yeah, why doesn't she have a name, though?" Cyan quickly asked Scarlet, hoping she knew the answer. "She DOES have a name, right?"

Scarlet shrugged. "Beats me." She admitted. "Hey, look… Pie." She nodded and pointed to the sales pony.

The cyan mare turned around happily. "What type of pie do you like, Scarlet?"

Scarlet shrugged. "What type of pie do you like, Cyan?" She copied with a smirk.

Cyan sighed. "I get it… I'll decide." She giggled and walked over to the mail pony and ordered some normal apple pie. She walked back over to the table where Scarlet had some what dozed off. "Scarlet?" She asked.

The mare looked up. "Just having a headache, as always…" She admitted and sighed of boredom. "How about you? You seem stressed."

Cyan gulped. "Uh… I'm fine. Nothing bad going on with me, but, what's with your headache? I mean… what's wrong?" She asked, wondering how odder this pony could go.

"I get headaches regularly." Scarlet admitted. "It's nothing too big, though. Don't worry about it."

Cyan sighed. "So, do you know anything about the murder?" Cyan asked and started to whisper.

Scarlet smirked. "Yeah. I know a lot about it… Let me tell you…" The mare giggled and Cyan started to listen…


End file.
